BOSTON – I’ve been to plenty of bar mitzvah’s in my life, but I’ve never seen anyone go from being a boy to a man in one night as quickly and as impressively as Tyler Seguin tonight.

The rookie showed the type of chutzpah no one – not even the most ardent “Seguinista” – could imagine he had in scoring two goals and adding two assists in the Bruins’ wild 6-5 victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final tonight at TD Garden.

With the win, the Bruins tied the series at one game apiece.

They also witnessed the emergence of a hockey star in the making in the No. 19 sweater where a wet-nosed boy with little chance of making an impact this spring on the game’s biggest stage once resided.

As with any bar mitzvah, Seguin had to make a speech after.

“Whenever I face adversity, I always try to take a negative and turn it into a positive,” said the wise 19-year-old about his time watching from the press box for Boston’s first 11 postseason games. “Watching the first two rounds, I could still learn a lot and see the game from up top. So whenever I get the opportunity again, whether it’s getting cut in World Juniors [in the winter ’09-10] and going back to OHL or being the press box and coming back to the team, I want to take advantage of every opportunity.”

Throughout the regular season, Seguin circled the rink the way a pimple-face teenager tiptoes around the perimeter of the bar mitzvah dance floor because he’s too shy to ask a girl to dance. He treated the puck like a burning-hot latke he couldn’t keep on his stick for more than a second. Those days are over.

The girls were already lining up to ask him to dance, among other things, but now they’re ready to perch him up on a chair and dance a Hora around him. He’s the toast of the town, whether you drink Manishewitz or something more appropriate for his age (iced tea or lemonade for the under-aged superstar-in-the-making).

Seguin’s moves on his way to his four-point night made everyone kvell. He blew by two defenders and roofed a backhander for his first goal. Then he wristed a laser over the glove side on a 2-on-1 for his second goal. His first assist was the result of another wrister that Dwayne Roloson stopped before Michael Ryder buried the rebound. And he capped his performance with a pass to a streaking Chris Kelly, whose shot turned into another rebound goal for Ryder.

Instead of checks from his friends and relatives, Seguin received power-play ice time from head coach Claude Julien and a chant of “Ty-ler Se-guin” from the 17,565 that packed the TD Garden. He also received praise from his coach and teammates.

The eldest statesman on the Bruins Mark Recchi said the kiddish:

“Well it’s pretty good sitting for a long stretch of time and then coming in and having the impact he had is pretty great,” said the future Hall-of-Famer, who didn’t have a challah to cut. “It’s neat to see, we’re all happy for him. He’s worked hard and like I said, he’s learned a lot this year and he has grown and he’s grown as a person and a player. He came out and he worked hard and he competed. And he worked hard because he competed and that’s a great thing, so it’s great to see, he’s a good kid.”

Added head coach Claude Julien: “Yeah he was extremely good tonight, there’s no doubt about that, one of our best players out there. And he used his speed very well tonight. He challenged their Ds with it, did a great job. And it was nice to see him respond that way. He’s competed extremely well and he’s been an excited individual waiting for his opportunity, and he’s certainly making the best of it.”

Seguin has shown hints of maturity off the ice all year with his positive statements and team-first comments even when times were toughest. On the ice, though, he was still a boy among men and that cause the coach to keep him in an apprentices role.

In addition to extra work on the ice with the coaching staff, Seguin also took lessons from Boston’s veterans the way a boy might learn his haftara from the rabbi. The sage words kept him going.

“There were a few times where guys who do have experience, like Recchi, and I remember a specific time, Shawn Thornton came up to me. It was the beginning of the second round and he just came up to and said, ‘Look, kid, If we’re going to the Cup, you’re going to get an opportunity to play, just because injuries are part of the game. Have fun with it. Enjoy the ride. Take it all in and use it as a learning experience,’” recalled Seguin. “So I looked at [watching from] up top as an opportunity as well. It was tough watching, but I tried to take it as an opportunity and when I got the chance to come in, I just wanted to seize it.”

Seize it he did. Tyler Seguin is now a man. Mavel tov and siman tov to him and the Bruins. They can now dress 12 men at forward from here on out. And it might not be long until Seguin is The Man.

I honestly don’t have super huge issues with Seguin sitting out the first bit of the playoffs. He was very hit or miss (and may still be hit or miss for a while-he has had two really good games with limited ice time in the first, but he could still start to go back to bad habits).

That said-he has certainly come into his own, and he seems to be getting it better. I think I have seen him play the most defensive games in these two playoff games-makes me think the coaching staff has really been working with him and not just dressing him in a suit and telling him to have a nice ride up to the press box.

I also think he has good chemistry with Ryder and the two of them paired with Kelly (and I do think Kelly deserves some credit here) create a line that can burn a team. Both Seguin and Ryder have nice shots but they need somebody to help get the puck to them so they can head off to the races. I think Seguin’s speed and puck skills make him a good solution to Tampa’s style.

I am looking forward to the next game and am interested to see how Tampa tries to defend Seguin-because I think with the Krejci line could become deadly (Horton already has a reputation as a lightning killer) if they try to defend Seguin, but they leave Seguin open if they try to defend Krejci. And if Bergeron comes back-defending is going to be tough, because all three of those lines can score.

Lets just rip the “C” right off Chara and give it to him..Play him 25 min/per game….that wouldn’t be too much pressure would it?
J.C. …CJ would be welcome in any team in the league BRUINS are lucky to have him.
GO BRUINS GO!!! ALL OF EM.

Just rewatched a little bit. Lucic was better than I thought he was. I thin he needs to be better, but it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it. He had a great first period and kind of faded from there. A couple of puck miscues, but i definitely overreacted

Nifty I think you are hitting the nail on the head. We saw and heard that when Seguin is paired on top line or given top line responsibility he thrives. On the lower lines… well thats what we saw during the season.

I’m not naive enough to know that a bad bounce in game 7 in rd. 1 and this great coaching staff and mgmt are gone. Think about it. Somehow I knew that great individual goals would be because of matchups and inept play of Tampas D. Here’s the question. Did we win that game because of coaching or because a guy scores a remarkable goal? Without him and his four points they lose this game. Bottom line. He’s got jump because he’s kept working and hasn’t sulked. Yeah he’s not beat up. At least not from hits by opponents but from experts that call him a bust.

Why do you think Seguin was played 13 minutes last night? If you watched who he was matched against, Seguin’s line was pretty consistently matched against Tampa’s lower lines, so as to minimize lack of defense and the offense Seguin could bring. The Bruins played their top 2 lines as shutdown lines for the most part, and the 2nd and 3rd lines had the same amount of time in such a role. Julien shouldn’t just give Seguin 20 minutes of game time coming off of one game and a bunch of rest, that will make him less effective Thursday. And also, HE HASN”T HAD THAT MUCH TIME ALL SEASON!!!! It’s irresponsible to throw someone out there for so long without a ramp-up. If Seguin is as effective game 3, I would expect 15 minutes or so. Julien is certainly trying to reward Seguin without destroying his confidence by putting him in a situation where he will have to think too much. He had approx. 4 minutes in the 3rd because we were defending the entire period, and he is bad at that. Think about it a little bit. Makes sense, No?

Fire Julien?! PAY JULIEN.
He, Chiarelli and Neely are doing it right.
They’ve built a great team, it’s ridiculously young and they have as many top quality prospects coming up as anyone.
This team is getting production from every player on the roster, has the best 4th line in hockey, has come from behind in games and in series’, is undefeated in OT… I don’t know what else you want from a coach, but I suspect you’ll be disappointed with anyone. They finally get back to the conference final, and are in a 3 of 5 for the cup final, and people are calling for the coach’s head! Here’s a thought, whatever Julien does next, give him the benefit of the doubt, chances are it’s the right move.

He sat him because on that first goal with a one on two situation he should have dumped it in. Those of us old enough know have seen Bruins teams dump the puck in the corner on a two on one.RRR. I love how the experts critique his play during the season and his dad tells him to carry the puck more. He probably hasn’t seen him play much. I said he was playing scared to death. If the coaching staff want to take credit for that then so be it.

Sometimes stubborn just to be stubborn. No doubt this makes Julien look bad! Thornton and Kessel could only of have dreamed at putting up the numbers Tyler put up with Uncle Fester’s refusal to play Seguin.

Even more stubborn Recchi would never be put on the 4th line because of CJs love affairs with his Vets. Claude still has plenty of time to bumble this series with his horrible line changes.

Seguin struggled all season, just like real analysts told us he would. The Bruins handled this perfectly, they made it to the CF and when an injury came up they gave him a chance and he took it. Seguin has forced the coach to put him in the lineup and that is something he didn’t do all season. “Seguinistas” are those who wanted Seguin in the lineup and power play because we know that even though he struggles sometimes and has defensive lapses, his development is the key to the Bruins being a contender for a Conference Final appearance every season…….not because we all knew he would score 6 points in 2 games in these playoffs if he was played.

The thing is none of you saw him play until he came to Boston. I watched him get top line minutes in junior for two years. I know it’s a different league but I can tell when a guy can skate and shoot at the next level. If you think getting a shift every eight minutes and not producing is a bust then you’re delusional. Anybody that plays knows a high end guy has to break a sweat to get all his muscles firing. He’d sit there for half a period and the Boston fans expect him to be warm and ready to explode with Campbell and Thornton. If you still can’t see that he has some pretty good skill than you’re beyond help. I love the jewish slant with the bar mitzvah comparison. Matt knew that once he became a man then he’d be a good player. Yeah right. Did you know the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame is in a old Photomat Booth in Syracuse?

Boys, I don’t think there is any crow to eat, and I don’t want to hear any ‘I told you so’ baloney. Amish (sorry to abandon the Jewish slant to the article) finally turned that corner and has arrived. Any talk that this would happen prior is all BS. I’ve been watching all season, and so have you all – He is a Totally different player now than we saw even in February.

Love to see a band of hot chicks show up as Seguinistas for the next home game!

@MCK- I guess I’m just sick of the topic. It’s about results and the team & Seguin are in great position. My opinion has been (and I wrote it here several times) that the likes of CJ, PC, Don Sweeney & Cam Neely probably know how to bring along a young player better than any of us fans screaming at the TV. Not trying to squelch debate, I enjoy it. Just this topic for me is annoying and for me, old news and irrelevant.
What would have happened if Seguin wad handled differently?
I don’t know. But how could they have been better?? They’re in the ECF tied1-1 and the kids on fire? Maybe if he got more regular season PT they’d be up 2-0 and Segzy had 5 points last night???

@MCK- I guess I’m just sick of the topic. It’s about results and the team & Seguin are in great position. My opinion has been (and I wrote it here several times) that the likes of CJ, PC, Don Sweeney & Cam Neely probably know how to bring along a young player better than any of us fans screaming at the TV. Not trying to squelch debate, I enjoy it. Just this topic for me is annoying and for me, old news and irrelevant.

Like I said yesterday. I’m sticking by the kid until someone who actually knows hockey tells me different. I’m not going to find that knowledge from articles and posts on this blog. Kalman watched this kid more than any of us and he still had to divide the supporters. What a joke. I’ve also realized I’ve wasted a lot of time here.

Pierre, so we can’t talk about it? Do you have an opinion on it? I am obviously glad that they are in the ECF and Seguin is playing well. I think there is a healthy debate as to what would have happened if he was not choked all year long by the coaching staff. It is a more interesting topic to me then just repeating how great he played last night.

I don’t know what you guys saw last night re: Lucic. Decent first period, disappeared after that to me at least. Doesn’t go to the front of the net often enough. Poor puck handler. He needs to make his presence felt. Just my .02

@MCK
1. Lucid did not suck last night.
2. Who cares how Julien handled Seguin? They’re in the Eastern Conference Finals and the kid is emerging. How would you have prefered things worked out? The kid scored 20 goals this year, the team was now in the same position but young’n didn’t have the jump in his legs anymore…all I’m saying is save your speculation. It us moot and you’re not gonna get any pats on the back. “oh yeah, you were right all along, bravo!”

With Seguin playing like this, we should say that the approach the coaching staff took worked perfectly. Get ready to see TB’s grinders start taking runs at him in open ice. Luckily the Bruins have players that will not stand for that.

That is a tough bet. He really sucked? I think 1, he didn’t get enough PT, 2, played with the least offensive players on this team and 3, got benched for any misstep, crusching or at least stunting his confidence

Wow, you all forget that the kid really sucked all season. So you think there’s some alternate universe of increased playing time that would have brought him to a better place than he is now, not crushed his confidence, or gotten him injured because he didn’t know how to hit or be hit?? I’ll take this universe.

ps – nobody had higher hopes for him this season than me. Nobody. I had a bet with my Dad about how many goals he’d get this year. Me=17, Dad=11. Bingo. Ouch. Now I have to wear a teeshirt next Xmas that says “My Dad KNOWS Hockey!” If I live that long.

And Seguin’s best play last night was a defensive play (the steal on the half-board follwed by that great pass to Kelly and Ryder’s rebound goal) Granted, the defensive play was in the offensive zone, but still…

I don’t want to fire Seguin, but there is no doubt anymore that Seguin should have played more throughout the season, that Julien needs to get over himself when it comes to rookies and Seguin’s defensive issues, and that it is unreal and stupid to not have played this kid for two rounds

Cooachhh.
I’ve said it before. The bruins are having amazing success in spite of Julien.
Holding the kid back constantly, only to have him bust out 12 games into the playoffs does not make him a genius. Imagine what he could have done if he had the ice time before? And I’m not talking about 3rd and 4th line minutes either.
There’s a bias against Seguin with Julien because he isn’t physical at all.

What a bum that Claude is, eh? They should probably fire him right now, don’t you think? I mean, look at what he has done… taken a team that is LOADED with flat-out superstar talent, with the likes of … ah,…er… well LOADED I say! and all he could do was get them to 3rd place, and then to 1-1 in the ECF’s. Loser! But really what should get him fired is how he’s handled Seguin, because look how THAT ended up! Here we are, deep in the SC playoffs, and Seguin has obviously been totally mishandled, lost any confidence, and has his head all screwed up and won’t be any help to the team. Cuz look at all those other players who were drafted at 18 last year and are out-producing him in the playoffs this season! And how about those dozens of 2010 draftees who outperformed him in the regular season too?!? Pathetic. Fire Claude now and bring in someone who is smart and gets it, like Grapes!

As I’ve been clamoring for this whole season, give Seguin a chance to play with Marchand and Bergeron for a game.
KHL
March Bergy Segzy
Kell Pev Ryder
Paille Soup Rex
I really like how that 3rd line played in Montreal and would love to see them stick together.

You are right about Seguin and Ryder, and you are right about Paille. I can’t remember if that one-man-gang PK was before or after Seguin caught fire, but he was playing like a man possessed (by the fear of having to sit when Bergeron comes back) himself. Of course, I thought Thornton had some good shifts himself last night. Those 1st couple of periods the 4th line really helped keep pressure on TB.

The weak link last night to me was Boychuk. Part of that was bad luck, but part looked like he was just rattled or something.

I think Seguin and Ryder have had great chemistry from the beginning of the season and Kelly seemed to make the right kind of center for them.

I don’t think that’s how the lines will shake out, but if/when Bergeron comes back there is no way in hell Julien can sit Seguin-he appears to be a Lightning killer.

Recci can easily substitute for Thornton, but will Julien move him there? I have my doubts, but at least against the Lightning seems like Thornton is the odd man out and thankfully Thornton is a real team player and while he won’t want to sit, I think he will understand why.

And while we are raving about Seguin I think Paille deserves a little bit of love-he was a one man PK machine last night-I never thought I would say it, but I think I would keep Paille around as a 4th line winger and PKer-I think it is his niche.

I had my doubts too great playing Tyler with all of the Bergy talk you came right in and lifted this team. This is exactly what we needed to try and get Tampa to see there is more than just a missing Bergy.

I’m eating a plate full of crow. I’ve been in the”limited ice time for Seguin” camp all along but after tonight I say give him top line minutes. He skated well, forechecked, I even saw him batteling in the crease. The kid has earned his stripes. So, where to I get a Seguinista t-shirt?